~Increase in teenage participants, and a boom in cosplayer support~
Hacosta Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Representative Director: Matsumura Yoshihiro) held an expanded version of the cosplay event acosta!, “Ultra acosta!”, for three days from Friday, September 6th to Sunday, September 8th, 2024, with 23,000 cosplayers and photographers participating in the event.
“Ultra acosta!” will be held for the third time at Ikebukuro Sunshine City. On the first day, Friday, September 6th, the event was held all night from 10pm to 3am, and photo sessions and exchanges were held at Sunshine City, which is usually closed to the public, in the middle of the night. In addition, the cosplay dance entertainment festival “CDEF” was held at the same time for four hours, and the venue was filled with excitement that you wouldn’t expect in the middle of the night.
For two days, September 7th (Sat) and 8th (Sun), all the halls of Sunshine City, Sunshine Plaza, and the adjacent Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park were used as venues. Cosplayers and photographers from all over the country came to the largest event ever, lining up from early in the morning. The “Opening Ceremony” was held at Fountain Square from 12:00 on the 7th (Sat), and in addition to Toshima Ward Mayor Takagiwa Miyuki, Animate Holdings Co., Ltd. Executive Director Niwa Yasuhiro, Sunshine City Co., Ltd. Managing Director Kawakami Hironobu, the four Ikebukuro Cosplay PR Ambassadors Momoto Momo, Zumi, Chocora, and Suzura appeared on stage. The audience cheered at the sophisticated cosplay of the popular cosplayers and their poses that perfectly expressed the worldview.
Among the various events held at various locations throughout the venue, a total of 218 groups, mainly cosplayers, exhibited at the cosplay doujinshi sale “Acosta! Marche,” selling merchandise and holding photo sessions. Many junior and senior high school students were seen at the venue, who came to Acosta! for the first time to meet their favorite cosplayers they found on social media. They said things like, “I don’t cosplay yet, but I came to meet my favorite cosplayer,” “My favorite characters are so realistically recreated, it’s really beautiful…” and “Next time I’d like to try cosplay,” and it is expected that the cosplay culture of the new generation will become more popular.
Blessed with fine weather from the first day to the final day, the 8th (Sunday), the event drew 23,000 participants over the three days, surpassing the 20,000 who attended last year. The number of teenage participants was 2,500, a significant increase from the 1,500 who attended last year.
In the future, acosta! will be held at Nagano Komaba Park on September 21st and 22nd, at Ikebukuro Sunshine City and the Dotonbori Cosplay Festival in Osaka on September 28th and 29th, and will continue to bring the charm and fun of cosplay to all parts of the country.
●”Ultra acosta!” special sitehttps://acosta.jp/event/ultra-acosta/
●”acosta!” official websitehttps://acosta.jp/
Date and time: Friday, September 6, 2024, 10pm-3pm / Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th, 10am-6:30pm
Venue: Ikebukuro Sunshine City (3-1-3 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)
Organizer: Hacosta Co., Ltd.
Sponsor: Sunshine City Co., Ltd.
Cooperation: Toshima Ward
Official website:https://acosta.jp/event/ultra-acosta/
Official SNS: X (https://x.com/Uacosta_JP)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@acosta_jp)
